Charismatic Leadership and the Transition to Democracy:The Rise of Carlos Saúl Menem in Argentine Politics Charismatic Leadership and the Transition to Democracy: The Rise of Carlos Saúl Menem in Argentine Politics by Catholic University of Buenos Aires Introduction In December 1983 Raúl Alfonsín took office as president of Argentina to end almost eight years of military rule. As the country started its transition to democracy, a process begun in late 1982, after Argentina's defeat in the South Atlantic War, a discredited and humiliated regime decided to call for general elections to avoid social and political chaos. The two main political parties, the Peronists and the Radicals, ran candidates for president: Ítalo Luder for the Partido Justicialista (PJ.the Peronists) and Raúl Alfonsín for the Unión Cívica Radical (UCR). The Pe ronists hoped a prestigious ticket would attract the votes of the middle class. Luder was president of the Senate during the previous Peronist government and was a recognized specialist in constitutional law. Deolindo Bittel, his running mate, was a respe cted politician from the Province of Chaco.

Both Luder and Bittel received clear support from the trade unions, which played a leading role in the organization of public rallies during the electoral campaign. For various reasons, however, labor support turned out to be harmful. To start with, the c ampaign's continual references to the old Peronist traditions were inappropriate in a country that had changed radically from the one Perón ruled as president beginning in 1946, and later in 1973. Second, the violent and aggressive attitudes of the trade unionists scared away not only part of the middle class but also the lower classes, who did not feel represented by the gangs that attended the Peronist rallies. Raúl Alfonsín, on the other hand, was relatively new to politics. After the death of Ricardo Balbín, the leader of the UCR, Alfonsín became president of the party and engineered a gradual change in the UCR's traditional stance toward positions more akin to those of Europe's Social Democratic parties. The perception of him as a modern and progressive politician surrounded by young, talented advisers with political experience gained during the recent resistance to the military d ictatorship gave Alfonsín a halo of heroism and boldness.

Well-crafted political and propaganda campaigns targeted not only to the UCR's traditional constituency.the middle class.but also to the poor neighborhoods, which had traditionally voted for Peronists, allowed the UCR to defeat the Peronists for the first time in a clean presidential election in October 1983. Many politicians, academics, and journalists essayed different interpretations of the election results. Some maintained that the Argentine electorate had finally matured and was leaning toward politicians who no longer spoke with the heart. Others rejoice d because Argentine political practices had grown to such an extent that Peronism's irrational and emotional speeches had been replaced by more rational and "scientific" arguments. Nevertheless, in the presidential elections held six years later, the Radicals were defeated by Carlos Menem, the Peronist candidate, a populist leader from a poor province of the interior who reminded the electorate of Perón's political style. Thi s time the emotional and sentimental speeches defeated the "rationality" of Eduardo Angeloz, the Radical candidate, and again gave rise to various interpretations about why the election had turned out as it had. In general, analysts pointed out that Menem represented a new leader who had taken up Perón's charismatic leadership style.

Further, ordinary people, tired of technical explanations about the current social and economic crisis, had followed this new "caudillo," who told them hope and faith could overcome their problems. This phenomenon has been interpreted in various journalistic and academic works. My aim here is to place Carlos Menem's ascent within the framework of its importance for political theory. Unlike analyses that focus only tangentially on Menem's victory and emphasize the first years of his presidency within the framework of the transition to democracy in Latin America, this paper will try to unveil the principal causes of the Peronist triumph in 1989 by examining Menem's personal history and Peronism after the 1983 defeat. I shall first try to relate Menem's rise to the presidency to theories of rationality in political behavior, charismatic leadership, and the charismatic tradition in Peronism. Then I shall analyze Menem's apparently charismatic leadership by examining his political speeches during the 1988 primaries in the Partido Justicialista and the 1989 presidential elections. I shall also examine the true relationship between the crisis at the end of the Alfonsín government and Menem's rise in popularity as Peronist presidential candidate.

Finally, I shall use public opinion polls to verify why people decided to vote for the Peronist ticket. This analysis will, then, endeavor to revive the study of emotion and myth in modern politics with a contemporary case study. It will also try to establish that such mythical behavior is an unavoidable element if one is to understand the transition to democracy in Argentina during the 1980s. Political Rationality and Charismatic Leadership In the course of his campaign for the nomination as presidential candidate for the Partido Justicialista in the 1989 general election, Menem was considered Peronism's new charismatic leader. Therefore, we must first refer to the development of the the ory of political charisma and then locate Menem within this conceptual characterization. The study of charismatic leadership initiated by Weber in the first decades of this century created a vast bibliography on the topic. Yet, since this kind of leadership entails a response from followers that goes beyond mere obedience to a doctrine or a p olitical program, the most convenient way to analyze it is by referring to the debate about rational and irrational behavior in politics. The concept of the "rational" to define human social activity has changed.

In the last century, rationalism and scientificism understood the human condition as essentially rational. Because human beings were thought to follow fixed patterns of behavior, it was assumed that human sciences should use methods comparable to those of the natural sciences to analyze society. The generation of sociologists who emerged in the first decades of this century.Pareto, Weber, Mannheim, and Parsons, among others.doubted the supposed rationality of human behavior. All of them revealed the significant emotional and instinctive component of human behavior. In the 1950s, the "rational choice" theory was greatly influenced by economic thought that even the apparent most irrational behaviors, for example, magic, were produced by persons conscious of the material benefits they would gain in exchange. In other w ords, human behavior was based on cost-benefit considerations More recently, although the concept of irrationality continues to appeal to those who study human behavior, sociological schools influenced by anthropology and economics have discarded irrationality because they think all human activity had to be consider ed rational. For some anthropologists and social scientists, rationality and irrationality are merely cultural concepts. Social behavior cannot be understood without a study from "within" the social environment in which it has emerged.

Therefore, all huma n activity, including the mythic, is considered rational.. This tangled discussion about rationality and irrationality relates strongly to the concept of "charismatic leadership." At the beginning of this century, Weber used the term "charisma" for the first time in political sociology. According to him, "charism a" was the extraordinary quality of a person whereby he was thought to have supernatural or superhuman forces. This virtue could be found not only in magicians, sorcerers, and priests but also in caudillos and political leaders. Weber also spoke of a type of "charismatic domination," which, like "rational" and "traditional" domination, based its legitimacy on particular arguments. "Charismatic" leadership differed from the other two types in that its legitimacy originated in the people's recognitio n of the extraordinary virtues of their ruler. Weber defines charisma as an irrational type of domination that is not attached to any rules. However, if we wanted to analyze the phenomenon according to the thesis of the anthropological and the rational choice schools, the relationship between the char ismatic leader and his followers would turn out to be related not to purely emotive and spontaneous behavior but to rational behavior.

In other words, consciously or unconsciously, the follower would support the leader for the benefits the people would re ceive once he was in power. Without entering into philosophical discussions about the rational or irrational essence of human behavior, we should therefore conclude that the charismatic element exists as a sociological category for analyzing those politic al phenomena in which the leader-follower relationship involves strong doses of emotion and mysticism. Among the recent works on charisma, those by Ann Willner and Douglas Madsen and Peter Snow deserve mention. Willner maintains that the virtues of a leader, as perceived by his followers, is the decisive factor in the emergence of charismatic domination. W illner describes some traits that she considers essential for the existence of charismatic leadership, especially followers who consider their leader to be a superhuman being and who staunchly believe in what he says and follow his orders without question . She also analyzes tools.such as the use of rhetoric and invocations to a glorious past.charismatic leaders use to elicit political fervor. Willner presents another category apart from the classic charismatic leader: the quasi-charismatic leader. This type of leader caused similar phenomena among the electorate, although without fulfilling all the necessary conditions to be considered charism atic.

In her view, there are several subtypes of "quasi-charismatic" leader. Nehru of India, who inherited Gandhi's charisma, exemplifies one type. John F. Kennedy was a case of "post-mortem charisma"; that is, he generated a charismatic following his ass assination. De Gaulle, who was popularly considered an indispensable political leader in times of crisis, was a third type of quasi-charismatic leader. Whereas Willner underscores personal leadership traits, Madsen and Snow give key importance to the existence of a crisis as the cause of the emergence of a charismatic leader. According to their analysis, in noncrisis times people have a feeling of "self- efficacy," which can be defined as the personal conviction of being able to handle successfully the challenges posed by the social environment. When this feeling no longer exists or is weakened in the personal and social spheres by a crisis, people seek s ecurity in what the authors call "proxy-control." The charismatic leader, whom the people recognize as having extraordinary abilities to save them, exercises this "proxy-control." The classic studies on charisma and the more recent work of Willner and Madsen and Snow help explain Menem's rise to the presidency.

The riojano "caudillo" represents one of the most characteristic leaders in a political culture in which personalis m and caciquismo surpass other types of authority; his style is also connected with one of the principal components of the Peronist movement.the charismatic element. Although there are many interpretations of Peronism, ranging from the classic formulation of Gino Germani to the more recent studies of Torcuato Di Tella and the electoral analyses of Mora y Araujo and others, all of them pointed out that Peronism was bas ically a mass movement whose identity must be explained by a study of its social base. Although everyone agrees with this argument, very few studies have outlined its charismatic aspect. Unlike the many who have concluded that Menem "de-Peronized" the party, I hypothesize that Menem's rise is intimately linked to one historical element of the Peronist party: its charismatic component. After Perón's death in 1974, the charismatic e lement was lost primarily because of the absence of charisma in his wife, his virtual heir.

Although the "Renovadores" tried to reorganize the party without the deep imprint of personalism, the charismatic facet prevailed in the primaries of 1988 and in the presidential elections in 1989. I am not arguing that Menem's rise in the national political arena can be explained only by charisma. I agree with other analysts who believe that much of the electorate decided to vote for Menem because of a very negative evaluation of the Radical govern ment. But why did they choose Menem? The memories of the chaotic government of Isabel Perón and the counterproductive and aggressive Peronist campaign in the elections of 1983 could have made people fear the arrival of a Peronist government more th an another Radical administration. The truth is that Menem won the 1989 elections mostly because his charismatic style appealed to the Argentine electorate. I think this element distinguished him from Angeloz, who lacked any trace of caudillismo. I n addition, Menem's charisma identified him with the charismatic tradition of the Peronist party. I shall now try to determine whether the rise of Carlos Menem to the presidency in 1989 can be laid at the feet of these phenomena.

Taking Willner's assertion that the charismatic leader uses a special rhetoric as a starting point, I shall first analyze w hether Menem was a case in point. At the same time I shall take Madsen and Snow's contention that a crisis plays a significant role in the growth of charisma and try to determine whether the magnitude of the crisis of the late 1980s in Argentina actually laid the foundations for the emergence of a charismatic phenomenon. Finally, I shall use pre-election polls to find out whether Menem was seen as a charismatic leader by the Argentine people. Menem's Rise in National Politics Before analyzing Menem's speeches, we must delve into the institutional and party channels that allowed him to win the nomination as presidential candidate of the Partido Justicialista in 1989. The victory of the Unión Cívica Radical in 1983 had been a hard blow for Peronism.

In the wake of this defeat, the Peronists could have pursued two courses: they could have retreated in as orderly a manner as possible, maintaining the trade unionists' hegemony in the party's authority structure, a nd then have run the risk of suffering political disintegration; or they could have gone through a thorough process of self-criticism to change the party's image and political methods, and thereby have recovered the political initiative. A significant num ber of Peronist politicians, led by Antonio Cafiero and Carlos Saúl Menem, chose the latter and created a new wing known as the "Renovación Peronista." The renewal of the party included, among other things, the removal of the trade unionists from the party leadership and the democratization by means of free and direct internal elections to nominate candidates. Although the Renovación Peronista wa s created almost immediately after the 1983 electoral defeat, the opposition of the trade unionists and politicians who supported them delayed the Renovación's ultimate control of the party.

Nevertheless, the September 1987 victories of gubernatori al candidates belonging to the Renovación consolidated this wing until its leaders, particularly those who sided with Cafiero, finally gained control of the party. In these elections Peronism won in almost all the provinces and Antonio Cafiero defe ated one of the most promising young figures of the UCR, Juan Manuel Casella, for the governorship of the Province of Buenos Aires. Because this province is one of the most important electoral districts in Argentina, this victory launched Cafiero into the presidential race of 1989. In his endeavors to become Peronism's presidential candidate, however, in July 1988 Cafiero had to confront Carlos Menem, who had also emerged as one of the leaders of the Renovación Peronista, in the primaries. Throughout the primaries, the differ ences between the candidates became more clearly marked. Cafiero wanted to change the Partido Justicialista into a modern party structured along the lines the UCR had adopted before the 1983 general elections.

To that end, it was necessary to abandon at l east part of Peronism's traditional political practices, in particular, the invocations to the ideas of Perón and "Evita," his wife, the street rallies, and anything that might remind the electorate of the party's populist traits. Menem thought tha t, because of their concern with solving bureaucratic problems in the party, the leadership of the Partido Justicialista, now dominated mainly by Cafiero's followers, had lost all contact with the grass roots. His felt that Peronism should stick to its tr aditional doctrine and again seek the close relationship between its leaders and the people that had existed during Juan Perón's time. Urging the Peronist grass roots to "overflow" the party machine (a phrase that urged Peronists to vote against party authorities who, for the most part, supported Cafiero), Menem had an excellent primary. With 54 percent of the vote, against Cafiero's 46 percent, he unexpectedly won the party's nomination for president.

Menem's victory indicated to political analysts and the public that the revival of Peronist traditional political practices and shattered the arguments of those who had forecast the end of caudillo leadership in Argentina after the 1983 defeat. Public opinion polls predicted that Menem would defeat UCR presidential candidate Eduardo Angeloz in the general elections. Menem won 47 percent of the vote, to Angeloz's 32 percent, and emerged victorious in twenty of the country's twenty-four electoral districts. Although it was generally assumed that a significant number of Menem's voters belonged to a fluctuating electorate that presumably had voted for the UCR in the previous general elections, Peronism was the dominant party in national politics aga in. Given that oratory is one of the tools a charismatic leader uses to gain a following, I shall now analyze some excerpts of Menem's speeches during the 1988­1989 primary and presidential elections. Peronist political discourse has previously focused o n Perón and his wife. What I shall try to do here is investigate the main topics Menem used to develop contacts with his followers and try to determine whether, as Willner claims, there were charismatic elements or overtones in them.

First, I shall briefly review the attributes that Willner ascribes to charismatic speech-making. Then I shall demonstrate that many of the elements Willner mentions can be found in Menem's oratory. Second, I shall analyze the contents of each excerpt. Two caveats about my methodology are in order. I have ignored the enunciation of the main points in Menem's political platform because they do not fit into the study of the charismatic speeches; and, apart from his continual references to the " salariazo" and the "revolución productiva," two key topics in his speeches that were never explained in great detail, Menem very seldom referred to his political platform during the campaign. The Rhetoric of Carlos Menem's Electoral Campaign To analyze Menem's speeches as sources of his charisma, it is necessary to study in detail the political language used in his rallies. According to Willner, charismatic oratory is different from other types in that it does not produce ideas or message s but, rather, emotional stimuli through words or phrases with sentimental content.

Some of the elements emphasized in her study are the use of metaphors, analogies, and figurative meaning in general, as well as the use of some rhythm, cadence, repetition , and alliteration. Taking into account that a political speech is an appeal to a particular public whom the speaker is trying to convert into the subject of his claim, we should determine to whom Menem's words were directed. In other words, the analysis of the contents and linguistic resources of a speaker who tries to attract people's attention through their emotions must be followed by a study of the direction of the message. Although this sort of study is not related specifically to charisma, it enhances the analysis of the speeches. When classifying the contents of Menem's speeches according to their images and metaphors, we can distinguish four topics to be tackled during his presidency: (1) references to biblical narrations and religious themes; (2) invocations to Perón, his wife, Eva, and to Peronist doctrine; (3) references to the people as the main protagonist of Menem's political project; and(4) images of pacification and national unity in a divided Argentina. Religious references were constant in his primary and presidential speeches.

It is possible that they were rooted in a sincere religious attitude. His ancestors were Muslims and he comes from a traditional and very religious province of Argentina, which r einforces his mystic personality. Nonetheless, the highly religious nature of the Argentine people, especially the lower classes, who were traditionally loyal to Peronism and suffered from the economic crisis more deeply, may have led Menem to intensify t he use of biblical quotations and metaphors: to those who are with their arms fallen, to those who are hungry and crave justice, to those who have lost their horizon and are looking for a better future, to those who are lonely and wait, there is a vacant place from which the future is buil t and that place is waiting for all of us. This excerpt comes from the speech given at the closing rally of the 1988 primary elections. Here Menem evokes a biblical passage, the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus promises rewards in the Kingdom of Heaven for the weak of the earth. Menem paraphras es the text to include "those who are with their arms fallen," that is, the many unemployed at that time.

When speaking of a "place from which the future is built," he promises a new country under his presidency. This is the time to run risks. The courageous must go forward! The cool must leave. The labels "courageous" and "cool" remind us of a famous excerpt from the New Testament in which Jesus rejects those who accept his word but dare not act accordingly. In Menem's case, the "courageous" are those who will commit themselves to his project an d the "cool" are those who will not make up their minds to carry it out. A voice rises like a prayer, like a plea, like a moving scream: Argentina, arise and walk. The phrase "Argentina, arise and walk" echoes a passage of the Gospel in which Jesus brings his friend Lazarus back to life. According to Menem, Argentina was as dead as Lazarus, but he, Menem, just like Jesus, would bring Argentina, his friend, back to l ife. Religious terms and the invocations to God were a regular feature in Menem's oratory. Moreover, the motto of Menem's presidential campaign, "Follow me; I will not disappoint you," recalled Jesus' words when he was recruiting the apostles.

In some cases, M enem even used a phrase of the pope's to refer to underdevelopment: "Peace has a name: development." On other occasions, Menem referred to faith and hope by saying that he was carrying both banners: "God's [banner], which is Faith and the people's, which is Hope." These religious references demonstrate not only that Menem identified himself with the Argentine people, who are mostly Christian, but that he was also trying to convey the image of a preacher of the truth charged with the task of saving the homeland. Men em also appeared to be trying to present himself as the Messiah or Savior of the Argentine people. Also noteworthy in Menem's speeches were references to the founder of the Peronist party, Juan Perón, to his wife, Eva, and to his own obligation as a bulwark of Peronist doctrine. His references to the Peronist past were made mostly during the pri maries, to try to differentiate himself from Cafiero as Perón's genuine heir. These references also appear in speeches made on special occasions, such as his first address as president. In the first case, he addressed his remarks to party members w hose votes had to be assured.

In the second case, his speeches were also directed to the people to reinforce the idea that he was Perón's heir; he even made his first presidential speech from the same place (the balcony of the Casa Rosada) from whi ch Perón spoke to the people. Each Peronist militant must become a guardian of Peronism's destiny and turn his vote into another 17 October . . . we must fulfill our leader's mandate, which is to give his banner and testament to the people . . . under the invocation o f Perón and Evita we must say now or never, the hour of Liberation and Social Justice has come. Here Menem compares his victory in the primaries with another October 17 and suggests that Cafiero does not represent the true Peronism, which took to the streets to rescue their leader on that glorious day. It is also interesting to point out Menem's in vocation of Perón and Evita, as though they were saints, and the idea that the Peronist grass roots must fulfill Perón's mandate. According to Menem, his own role as leader of the party would be to safeguard Peronist history and ensure that hereafter the people would preserve that legacy.

You are all summoned by Juan Domingo Perón, by Eva Perón and those of us who are their heirs . . . I invite you to work and mainly to succeed, succeed, succeed . . . Argentina is ours. Destiny is ours! . . . May God bless you! I give you a big hug from my heart. Interestingly enough, here Menem identifies himself and the people as Perón's heirs. The verb "succeed" is also emphasized, such that the audience has no doubt about the final goal of the rally. Finally, his religious farewell reminds us o f a priest at the end of a service and of any father with his children. Also characteristic of Menem's oratory are his references to the Argentine people and his personal committal to their fate: Our primaries are a question of people, and intuition will play a role in it. For this reason, on 26 June [the original date for these elections] the people will not make a mistake. In this excerpt the repetition of the word "people" is intended to underline the principal focus of Menem's political proposal. Menem also resorts to an argument commonly used by populists to stress people's capacity to avoid mistakes when giving their verdict in the ballot box.

On the other hand, Menem also implies that, since ordinary people never make mistakes, his victory is certain. I do not want to speak to you out of vanity or arrogance, because nobody is free from making mistakes in politics, and I want to speak to you as another companion, not as a political schemer who sees party members as electoral booty that must be obtained at any cost. Companions, brothers and sisters of my country and dear children, if there is a movement with mystique, it is Peronism . . . Peronism is a mystique, an emotion, a movement. He uses the word "companions" to address party members and those who sympathize with Peronism. The undecided are called "brothers and sisters" to try to make them participate in a common project designed by him. At the same time, he defines Peron ism more as a religion that is followed through faith than as a political doctrine. We have achieved victory working from below like fire and making microphones listen the most marvelous music, which is the voice of the people. In this paragraph two metaphors are used.

The work of the people in the campaign is compared to a fire that warms from below, such that the unattainable victory for the pro-Cafiero party authorities went for the grass roots who worked unfaltering ly and with passion, like fire. Menem also compares the voice of the people, their songs at the rallies, to "marvelous music." He takes this metaphor from Perón's last speech in 1974 to flatter the voters and to demonstrate that he represents Per&o acute;n's legacy. Menem recognizes that he needs people's support and does not promise immediate miracles or "magic solutions." Yet, he does not mix with his followers and reveals himself as their guide and savior: We are going to walk up to the government's house holding the hands of the forgotten, of those who suffer, of those who are needy, of the poorest. We are going to say yes to Justice, yes to the future . . . I am coming without constra ints, with clean and free hands to work for the country, and my only prior compromise is a deep passion to lift our homeland from the state of decadence in which it stands.

At the beginning of this paragraph Menem uses the first person plural to state that he will govern with the people and then changes to first person singular. Finally, he will work for the country with no compromises other than his "passion" for it. In oth er words, at the beginning of his speech Menem mixes with the people, then he detaches himself and announces that he will save the homeland. Other phrases of the Peronist candidate's speeches also warrant analysis. Some of them, like the invocations to national unity and to pacification, and the assertion that there exist two Argentinas.a concept that will be explained below.were the leitmotiv of Menem's presidential campaign. These invocations to peace and unity as indispensable for a common life in the country were made at this stage because Menem needed to keep the votes of the Peronist electorate, which were almost guaranteed, an d win the independent vote. The first point he proposed was "national unity" as a means of overcoming the division of Argentina "into two countries": The time has come for each Argentinean to offer his hand to his brother, to build a chain stronger than discord, resentment, pain, grudge, death, the past.

The times has come for a gesture of pacification. Menem reiterated the conciliatory tone of these words in his inaugural speech before Congress: The Argentine people voted for national unity. That is why our government is a government of national unity . . . Thank God the country where discretionary law prevailed no longer exists. The official and the submerged countri es no longer exist. The days of the visible country and the real country are over. I have just seen these two Argentinas. I am coming to fight for the reconciliation of these two homelands . . . I want to be the president of a united Argent ina that will progress despite its discrepancies . . . The country of everybody against everybody is over. The country of everybody together with everybody is dawning. The idea of "pacification" relates to the electoral promise of taking the necessary measures to overcome the old confrontation between civilians and the military, and between the guerrilla groups and the security forces. The concept of "national unity" in turn is linked to the existence of two Argentinas. According to Menem, the "visible" and "official" country was that of the capital city as the center of business and finance.

The "real" country was the poor, the castaways, and the interior provinces, wh ich did not wield any political power at all. Menem's intention, then, was to achieve the necessary unity to prevent the partition of Argentina. Hence his role would be that of a king or caudillo at the beginning of the national state who would stay away from internal differences to unify peop le under a common project. As we can see, Menem's speeches fall within what Willner calls "charismatic language." We find metaphors, figurative meanings, and linguistic elements such as the repetition of sounds to stress the importance of certain words. Eduardo Angeloz, the UCR's c andidate, used precise and clear language comparable to that of a technician trying to inform, not move, people. Angeloz's style was that of a modern politician more used to speaking before the mass media than in rallies. With these arguments and rhetoric, Carlos Menem defeated the Radicals in the presidential election of 14 May 1989. We must still answer the following questions, however: Why was Menem's oratory more convincing than Angeloz's?

Why did Menem's style during the electoral campaign emphasize feeling over reason, idealism over pragmatism? Certainly, the analysis of his speeches is insufficient to elucidate what happened during the election. Thus, following the explanation offered by Madsen and Snow, I shall now analyze whether ordinary people's ordeal in Argentina at the time may have influenced their decision to vote for a candidate who did not accompany his promises of "an Argentina worth living in" with logical explanations of how he intended to achieve that goal. The Recognition of Menem's Charismatic Leadership The last months of the Alfonsín government were plagued by social, political, and economic problems. Since various authors have already described these dramatic events in detail, I shall mention briefly only the military crisis, the energy shor tages, and the collapse of the economy. In the military sphere, the uprisings of the fundamentalist wings of the army, the last one of which took place in December 1988, were followed by an attack on a military garrison by the Movimiento Todos por la Patria (MTP), a radical Marxist group, in Ja nuary 1989.

The episode shocked the government, the armed forces, and the public because it reminded them of the previous decade's violence. And because of a drought and the lack of adequate investment in the energy industry, during the summer there was a grave energy crisis that severely hit the productive apparatus and consumers in general. The economic collapse that began in February 1989 and peaked in May was even worse for the Alfonsín government. The problems began when the so-called Spring Plan launched in August 1988 to stabilize the value of the U.S. dollar and control inflatio n foundered in February 1989. By July 1989, the dollar had been devalued 3,600 percent, the monthly rate of inflation had reached almost 200 percent, the Central Bank's foreign reserves had fallen to a little over US$100 million, real industrial wages had fallen, and unemployment and underemployment had increased by 27 percent. Also during these months, mobs looted many shops and supermarkets; there were serious clashes between the shop owners, the security forces, and the mobs; and the government had to impose a state of siege.

Some contemporary accounts claim that key vested interests, such as agrarian corporations and some industrialists who felt threatened by the current economic policy, were largely responsible for Argentina's economic collapse. What is important for our pur poses is that the hopelessness and discredit of the Radical government increased to such an extent that President Alfonsín was finally forced to advance to 8 July the transfer of power originally scheduled for December. Knowing that the crisis made ordinary people insecure, Menem exploited the economic chaos and widespread frustration to attract more votes. In the last weeks of his campaign he maintained that Argentina was going through one of the worst periods of its hi story and that skyrocketing inflation, political instability, the recession, and growing social marginalization were the most important problems. To those members of the government and the press who warned that widespread fear would follow a Peronist vict ory, he replied that in fact the Argentineans feared "Radical hunger".a popular phrase that emphasized the severe economic crisis.and the government's impotence to cope with it during last months in power. Nevertheless, in his inaugural address Menem revealed a conciliatory attitude toward the opposition.

He compared Argentina to a country that was dying and added that death would the country's destiny if the Argentineans did not unite to save it. He also c laimed that all Argentineans had contributed to their country's failure. In sum, at that time Argentina was fractionated to such an extent that the situation probably generated deep anxiety. Using Weber's theory about the relationship between crisis and charisma, Madsen and Snow consider extreme political difficulties to be th e main cause of the charismatic phenomenon. Do all deep crises, then, lead to the emergence of a charismatic leader who fulfills the role of a savior? There are some historical examples of the great influence of crisis on the emergence of charismatic leaders. This appears to have been the case in the emergence of Franklin Roosevelt during the crisis of the 1930s, of Hitler after the recession and hyperi nflation in Germany, and of Mussolini during the 1920s, though not of Castro, Gandhi, and Sukarno. But, it must be remembered that similar chaotic moments in recent Argentine history were not followed by the rise of charismatic leaders.

A grave political and economic crisis finally led to a military coup in March 1976, yet none of the members of the military junta that came to power at that time had any of the personal traits generally attributed to charismatic leaders. It appears, therefore, that, though important, a crisis is not an indispensable prerequisite for the rise of a charismatic phenomenon. The missing element is the emergence of a politician capable of winning people's confidence with encouraging promises. I n Menem's case, the chaotic situation in Argentina melded with a personal style that convinced people of his ability and determination to solve the current difficulties without offering logical explanations or rational recipes for doing so. In conclusion, Argentina went through one of its deepest crisis on the eve of the 1989 elections. It seems that the problems created appropriate conditions for the emergence of a caudillo who was seen as tea savior of the country. It is appropriate to analyze Menem's charisma from the viewpoint of public opinion. Thus I shall focus on three key topics: (1) Did the electorate recognize the hypothetical charisma of the Peronist candidate? (2) In what way did this personal characteris tic influence voting intentions?

and (3) Was Menem's charisma a distinctive element in his contest against Angeloz?. With the development of public opinion polls, survey research is one of the most reliable methods for answering these questions. As there is no public repository of polls in the country, I consulted those published in newspapers and magazines before the e lection. While recognizing the complexity of the term "charisma" and the difficulty of capturing it by poll, I came on some interesting findings. First, the word was widely known and was voluntarily chosen by the interviewers to define Menem's personality. There were people who did not use the word charismatic to characterize the Peronist candidate, but they used other words related to it li ke caudillo and popular. Table 1.

Reasons for Supporting Menem or Angeloz Reason for Supporting Menem Featured Articles about Carlos Menem - Page 3 - latimes FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT CARLOS MENEM - PAGE 3 NEWS Ex-Argentine President Arrested on Trafficking Charges June 8, 2001 | SEBASTIAN ROTELLA, TIMES STAFF WRITER Former Argentine President Carlos Menem, a flamboyant political boss who presided over a decade of economic transformation and scandals, was arrested Thursday on charges of masterminding an international arms-trafficking scheme while in office. Authorities took Menem into custody shortly after he entered a courthouse Thursday morning to testify about his role in the alleged smuggling of 6,500 tons of arms and ammunition to Croatia and Ecuador from 1991 to 1995. Advertisement Former President Is Back in Argentina December 23, 2004 | From Associated Press Former President Carlos Menem was greeted by hundreds of cheering supporters Wednesday as he returned to Argentina after months spent abroad to avoid arrest. Menem announced that he would run again for the presidency after an Argentine judge last week dismissed a warrant against him.

Well-wishers shouted "Viva, Carlos!" as the 74-year-old politician arrived in La Rioja, about 600 miles northwest of Buenos Aires. "Many of you thought I'd never be back!" he said. BUSINESS New President Presses His Quest for Stable Argentina : South America: Carlos Saul Menem is fighting to keep his ambitious reform plan on its feet. But the early hopes for a quick solution have vanished. November 29, 1989 | JAMES F. SMITH, TIMES STAFF WRITER For a man who was not even supposed to take office for another few weeks, President Carlos Saul Menem sometimes has the look of a haggard victim of Argentina's "me-first" political and economic wars. The trade union movement that helped put him in office is squabbling; big business is howling over lost subsidies and higher taxes; the black-market dollar has shot up, and rumors of impending Cabinet changes are denied daily--all of this little more than four months into Menem's six-year term. CALIFORNIA | LOCAL Bold Policy Is Made, and Investors Yawn : Argentina: President Carlos Saul Menem hatched an ambitious economic program when he won office.

Lack of private investment may ruin it. December 13, 1989 | JORGE CASTANEDA, Jorge G. Castaneda is a graduate professor of political science at the National University of Mexico in Mexico City. He is in South America as part of a lengthy regional study. and After barely five months as president, Carlos Saul Menem has run into Argentina's traditional unmovable obstacle: the sheer intractability of the nation's problems. Menem's ambitious economic program, highly touted abroad but deeply controversial in Argentina, is in trouble. Worse still, political signals from the Argentine electorate are far from comforting. As soon as he moved into the presidential palace, Menem broke with many canons of his Peronist legacy. BUSINESS Argentina's Uphill Battle for Reform : South America: President Carlos Saul Menem's plan to set up a free-market economy has run into resistance on all sides. February 1, 1990 | JAMES F. SMITH, TIMES STAFF WRITER With plenty of false starts, backpedaling and detours, Argentina is lurching into the brave new world of free-market economies.

For most analysts, it is an open question whether the train to modernization will derail even before it builds up steam. The final days of December and the first weeks of the 1990s saw a ruthless new spurt of inflation, chewing up workers' buying power just as it began recovering from last year's hyper-inflation. NEWS Argentines Still Cry for Evita, Defend Her Image : Populism: Oliver Stone's plan to film musical about the former first lady stirs passions even today. His intention to portray heroine of the poor in unflattering light caused President Carlos Menem to bar Stone from using government buildings in film. August 21, 1994 | IAN KATZ, ASSOCIATED PRESS On most days, the bronze bust of Eva Peron seems forgotten, kept company only by the weeds sprouting below. Now and then--on her birthday, Peronist Day and the anniversary of her death--devotees brighten the roadside monument with roses and wreaths. The legacy of Eva Peron and her husband, the late President Juan Peron, faded as time passed.

And in recent years, President Carlos Menem, head of the Peronist Party, reversed the old nationalist policies in the name of a "new" Peronism. NEWS America From Abroad : Moving Into the First World on the Buddy System : * Carlos Saul Menem and George Bush have little in common except a deep regard for one another. The Argentine leader hopes that friendship will help his country become rich and powerful. July 16, 1991 | WILLIAM R. LONG, TIMES STAFF WRITER They make an odd couple, Carlos and George. Argentine President Carlos Saul Menem: shortish, dapper and flamboyant, a provincial populist. President George Bush: nearly a head taller, conventional, a pillar of the Establishment. And yet the two have a "very loyal, very sincere friendship," Menem remarked when Bush visited Argentina in December. Loyal and sincere as it may be, the friendship also fits into Menem's policy of cultivating close relations between Argentina and the United States for pragmatic reasons. NEWS Argentina's V.P.

Quits December 8, 1991 | Reuters Argentina's vice president, Eduardo Duhalde, stepped down last week to become the new governor of the province of Buenos Aires. His resignation makes Senate speaker Eduardo Menem, a younger brother of President Carlos Menem, next-in-line on the presidential succession list. NEWS Latin Chief to Visit Clinton May 14, 1993 | Associated Press President Carlos Saul Menem of Argentina will visit the White House on June 29 to discuss trade and economic matters with President Clinton, the Administration said Thursday.

Argentina's Menem Cultivates Reporters, but He Often Confuses Them : South America: When the president says 'not for now,' he may well mean 'soon.' - latimes YOU ARE HERE: LAT Home → Collections Argentina's Menem Cultivates Reporters, but He Often Confuses Them : South America: When the president says 'not for now,' he may well mean 'soon.' March 24, 1991 |DANIEL DROSDOFF | UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL BUENOS AIRES — One of President Carlos Saul Menem's most successful techniques in achieving political prominence is to carefully cultivate the press, more so than any other Argentine leader. As a presidential candidate, he was on the front pages of major news magazines every day, as well as the newspapers. Not all the coverage was flattering. Menem often was criticized for contradictory statements, and he bristles to this day when he is reminded that something he says now may contradict one of his ministers or even one of his own previous declarations.

Since becoming president, Menem, 61, has kept up his tradition of close contact with the press, even in difficult times such as recent weeks, when his popularity has declined while he confronted crises of inflation, Cabinet upheavals and accusations of government corruption. After his inauguration on July 8, 1989, every week he scheduled two mealtime conversations with reporters, one at breakfast and one at lunch, according to Humberto Toledo, his press spokesman. As late as last year, reporters were asked not to bring tape recorders to the meetings, but that restriction, always only loosely enforced, has since been waived. The regular press breakfasts and luncheons do not usually lead to major news announcements, but they do give an insight into what Menem is thinking and how he operates. United Press International has been invited to two breakfasts, both with mainly foreign reporters, served by waiters in white coats at a table that can seat 12 in the ornate downtown presidential palace Casa Rosada. The second breakfast, more formal than the first, was held March 5.

The president, inviting questions almost immediately after sitting down before a plate of croissants, wore a blue business suit and tapped the white tablecloth with both hands as he fielded one question after another. A film crew from Cable News Network taped a few minutes of the questioning, then turned off the strobe lights. Menem, the son of Syrian immigrants, was, as is his custom, evasive and circuitous in answering many of the questions. Other times he was blunt. He instantly warmed to questions about the Persian Gulf War and a man whom Menem likes to call " mi amigo , President Bush." Bush is well aware of Menem's delight in citing the friendship, and when the U.S. President visited Argentina last December and addressed a joint session of Congress he made a point of describing his South American counterpart as " mi amigo , Carlos Menem." Argentina was the only Latin American country that sent warships to support the allied military effort against Iraq, and Menem clearly relishes the role, although public opinion polls showed that most Argentines opposed military involvement. "Time has crowned the policies of Bush," Menem said in his breakfast conversation.

"There was no political cost because it was a triumph." Menem predicted that his Justicialist Party would win congressional elections later this year--"not because we are so good but because the others are so bad." In case anybody doubted that he was on the winning team, he also predicted "victory for President Bush" in U.S. congressional elections. To rub it in even more, Menem said the Vietnam syndrome--U.S. self-doubt over the war in Southeast Asia--was "devastating," and "the presidency of (Jimmy) Carter was very bad for the United States." Then he turned to a reporter for a large and prestigious U.S. metropolitan newspaper and asked with a broad smile, "Are you a Republican or a Democrat?" The reporter said nothing, nodded his head and smiled. "Are you a Republican or a Democrat?" Menem asked again, leaning over the table, looking over to get a better view of the newsman while smiling even more broadly. For the second time the American reporter said nothing, but smiled just as broadly as Menem and nodded his head. For a moment, it appeared that Menem had met Menem.

The president sat back in his chair and remarked, "Don't worry. A lot of Democrats are my friends. Sen. Ted Kennedy is my friend." The same reporter asked the president to discuss the pardons he gave last year and the year before to hundreds of military officers accused of rebellion and human rights crimes, as well as to former left-wing guerrillas. Menem scarcely batted an eye. "The constitution of Argentina allows presidents to grant pardons," he said. "As president I granted the pardons. I don't see why I should say anything more about it." Seeing that his reply produced raised eyebrows, Menem decided to elaborate a bit. "The Constitution of the United States allows the president to also give an amnesty, but in Argentina the constitution is a little more restrictive and only allows a pardon." Asked about his meeting on March 4 with John Reed, president of Citicorp, Menem said the powerful U.S. banker had pledged to "accompany" Argentina in its plan to privatize more state companies, such as gas, water and electricity.

Ex-Argentina leader to face terror cover-up trial - International - Jerusalem Post Ex-Argentina leader to face terror cover-up trial ByGIL STERN STERN SHEFLER 31 March 2012 12:33 Carlos Menem to be tried for allegedly protecting Hezbollah, Iran accomplices thought to be behind 1994 Jewish center bombing. Carlos Menem 370. (photo credit:REUTERS) The former president of Argentina will stand trial for obstruction of justice in the investigation of the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center that killed 85 people and left hundreds wounded. Judge Ariel Lijo on Friday ruled that Carlos Menem, who was president of the South American country between 1989 and 1999, along with several other former officials, will be tried for allegedly protecting accomplices of Hezbollah and its backer Iran, who are believed to have been behind the attack.

Argentina welcomes Tehran overture on 1994 bombing According to state prosecution, the former president conspired with former state intelligence head Hugo Anzorreguy, former police chief Jorge Palacios, and others, to hide the involvement Syrian-Argentine businessman Alberto Kanoore Edul in the attack. To date nobody has been convicted of the 1994 bombing, although Argentina has issued arrest warrants for several Iranians including Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi and former prime minister Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. The 1994 bombing of the AMIA building came two years after a similar attack on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires that killed 29 people and wounded 242. The Israeli embassy marked the 20th anniversary of the event earlier this month in several ceremonies. “Perhaps the failure to find those who planned the attack on the embassy is what led to the second attack on the AMIA building,” Lea Kovensky, who was wounded at the embassy, told The Jerusalem Post earlier this month. Relevant to your professional network?

Please share on Linkedin Tags: Carlos Menem goes on trial over bombing of Buenos Aires Jewish centre - Telegraph Argentina Carlos Menem goes on trial over bombing of Buenos Aires Jewish centre Argentina's former president has gone on trial over allegations of a cover-up of responsability for the 1994 AMIA bombing Carlos Menem pictured earlier this year Photo: AFP Follow Carlos Menem, the flamboyant former president of Argentina, has gone on trial for orchestrating a cover-up of his country's worst ever terrorist attack. The 85-year-old senator, who ruled for a decade from 1989, is one of 13 people accused of derailing the investigation into the bombing of a Jewish centre , which killed 85 people. He was president at the time of the 1994 explosion at the AMIA centre in Buenos Aires – home of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association. The bombing is suspected of being the work of Iranian terrorists and Mr Menem, born in Argentina to Syrian parents, stands accused of covering up Syrian connections to the bomb plot in order to protect family friends.

Aftermath of the 1994 explosion in Buenos Aires (AP) "After 21 years of no justice, deception and defrauding the families of victims, we hope that the truth will emerge about everyone who plotted to cover up and derail the investigation," said Olga Degtiar, whose son was killed in the blast. Yet as the trial opened on Thursday, the Ferrari-driving Mr Menem , married for a time to a Chilean beauty queen 35-years his junior, was not in court. His lawyer pleaded ill health, saying that Mr Menem suffered from hypertension, diabetes, sclerosis and osteoarthritis. Hugo Anzorreguy, former spy chief, was not in court either – but was following the proceedings by video conference from his hospital bed. Mr Menem with wife Cecilia Bolocco, 2001 (AFP) The case has aroused huge interest in Argentina, which only increased after the suspicious death of Alberto Nisman, the prosecutor who was leading the investigation . On January 18 he was found shot dead in his flat , having accused President Cristina Kirchner of being behind a cover-up of the bombing. The inquiry into his death is continuing.

And during the trial, expected to last around a year, prosecutor Sabrina Namer is likely to argue that a former judge, Juan Jose Galeano, on orders from Menem, stopped investigating a "Syrian trail" that involved Syrian-born Alberto Kanoore Edul. Edul was detained when authorities discovered he had telephoned Carlos Telledin, a mechanic who owned the truck that carried the explosives, days before the attack. Edul, whose parents had a personal relationship with the Menem family, was also suspected because he had an address book that included the phone number of Moshen Rabbani, at the time the cultural attaché at the Iranian Embassy in Buenos Aires. Prosecutors have accused Rabbani of masterminding the attack and continue to seek his extradition. Edul, who died in 2010, denied involvement. A total of 140 witness will be called during the case – among them Ms Kirchner. She has given her full support to the proceedings, and stated that Mr Nisman had ignored the "Syrian trail" and was wrong in pointing the finger at her .

BBC NEWS | Americas | Menem faces court over bomb probe Menem faces court over bomb probe By Daniel Schweimler BBC News, Buenos Aires Carlos Menem was president of Argentina from 1989 to 1999 Carlos Menem, president of Argentina from 1989 to 1999, has been ordered to appear in court in December. He is accused of obstructing an inquiry into a car-bomb attack on the Jewish cultural centre in Buenos Aires in July 1994. He denies the allegations. The attack claimed 85 lives and wounded more than 200 people. No-one has been convicted in connection with it. Mr Menem, whose lawyers say he is too ill to appear in court, is meanwhile being tried in an unrelated case. The former president, his brother Munir and several former leading intelligence and police officers stand accused of obstructing the investigation into the attack. None has been convicted. Shortly after the bombing, police were planning to raid the house of a friend of Mr Menem, Alberto Kanoore Edul, and his son, also Alberto. But that day, Mr Edul was seen visiting the presidential palace.

The raid was called off and the investigation into Mr Edul aborted. His whereabouts are still unknown. Some former policemen were later falsely accused of carrying out the attack. Attention later turned to senior officials in the then-Iranian government. The first judge to investigate the attack was pulled off the case and later prosecuted. Despite strong pressure from the large Argentine and the world Jewish communities, no-one has been convicted for what is the worst terror attack in Argentine history. Mr Menem currently stands accused of illegally selling weapons to Croatia and Ecuador. Bookmark with: Judge bars ex-president Menem from leaving Argentina Judge bars ex-president Menem from leaving Argentina Pin it Share Former president Carlos Menem, pictured on September 9, 2004, was barred from leaving Argentina ahead of his trial over alleged obstruction of the investigation into the deadly bombing of a Jewish community center in 1994 (AFP Photo/Victor Rojas) More Buenos Aires (AFP) - A judge on Wednesday barred former president Carlos Menem from leaving Argentina ahead of his trial over alleged obstruction of the investigation into the deadly bombing of a Jewish community center in 1994.

The attack, which killed 85 people, was the deadliest ever on Argentine soil, and also left about 300 people injured. The Center for Judicial Information, the official mouthpiece of Argentina's federal justice system, said the travel ban applies to "anyone being prosecuted next month for crimes related to the investigation into the attack on the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association (AMIA)." "We bar anyone being prosecuted in connection with irregularities in the investigation of that attack on AMIA from leaving the country," justice officials said. About a dozen defendants, including Menem, as well as the former head of intelligence, Hugo Anzorreguy, face charges that they took part in a cover-up of the probe into the attack. An August 6 trial date has been set in the case. The bombing made headlines again after the suspicious death earlier this year of a prosecutor who had launched a probe into the affair. Alberto Nisman died mysteriously on January 18 as he prepared to publicly accuse President Cristina Kirchner of shielding high-ranking Iranians suspected of ordering the attack. Officials originally ruled Nisman's death a suicide, but his family insists he was the victim of murder. Reblog

Question: Carlos Menem was made president of which South American country in July 1989?
Answer: Argentina